Untamable
by TheKeybladeForger
Summary: Noir is as free-spirited and wild as they come with a burning passion within and a thirst for adventure, but nothing could have prepared her to find out she's the legendary Dragonborn let alone the unusual encounter she had with a certain ranger named Bishop who seems to have taken a liking to her. But, will he be able to win her heart? Or is it truly as untamable as her spirit..?
1. Prologue: Firelight

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

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**(Updated 11/27/2020)**

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_**Prologue:** Firelight_

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Noir's POV

_An old friend once told me that destiny has a funny way of bringing the most unlikely people together. And I believe that's absolutely true. The Divines have an odd sense of humor too because somehow I ALWAYS seem to end up in the most bizarre situations even when I'm trying to be careful. Although now that I look back on everything that's happened recently I can't help but laugh at the irony of it all._

_I suppose I do tend to get a bit too nosy for my own good whenever something interesting is going on or when someone needs help. It's hard to resist getting involved whenever that happens and that's usually when the trouble starts. But the thing is, I also really enjoy the thrill of a good adventure and causing a bit of harmless mischief now and again can be fun in small doses. So to me, it's not always a bad thing how unpredictable life can be..._

_It all started a few months ago after I saved a man named Ralof from a nearby cave while searching for survivors from Helgen. I was camping just outside of the village when I suddenly heard a deafening roar and saw a real dragon fly right overhead from that direction. It was an enormous creature and deadly looking creature with dark gleaming scales as black as a moonless sky and its eyes as red as the flames of Oblivion itself._

_I have no idea where it came from, but the danger it posed was real enough which meant something big was going on. Either way, once it was safe to come out into the open again I hastily extinguished my campfire, grabbed my belongings, and ran up the hillside as fast as I could to see if there was anything I could do to help even though I already knew it might be too late and even if there were survivors they probably wouldn't accept my help easily. Then again, given how devastating the dragon attack was I had a feeling that the remaining guards wouldn't bother trying to kick me out when they had bigger things to worry about even though my kind, the Khajiit, aren't usually welcome inside of the city walls. At least, not very often._

_By the time I finally managed to find a way inside what remained of the village, everyone was dead. It was a heartbreaking and truly horrible sight. The only thing that still gave off any warmth were the dimly glowing embers of what was once a thriving community and the burnt bodies of the villagers strewn all around me. And normally, I would have tried to at least bury them but their charred skin turned to ash at the slightest touch, so in the end, all I could do was pray for their souls. __I was just about to leave when I came across the journal of an adventurer who had been mistaken for a Stormcloak rebel. I found it poking out from under a rock I tripped over while searching through my satchel and quickly realized the fallen stone from one of the walls must have protected the journal from the flames that had engulfed everything else..._

_That is, with the exception of the single survivor I DID manage to find._

_To tell you the truth Ralof should count himself lucky I found that journal because I honestly had no intention of coming back this way for a while, especially not when there was a dragon around. And so, after following the directions from the journal's last entry I found him in a cave I dragged Ralof all the way back to my campsite where he told me what happened while I was tending to his wounds. Apparently, he and his fellow Stormcloak soldiers were caught during an ambush near Darkwater Crossing and were brought to Helgen in a couple of carts where they were all supposed to be lined up for the headsman's ax. _

_Even the leader of the rebellion, Ulfric Stormcloak himself, was captured too and he was about to go up to the chopping block when that black dragon appeared and started destroying everything in sight. The only reason I knew any of that is because I like to make sure I know who to avoid crossing paths with out in the wild. Especially when this civil war in Skyrim between the Empire and Stormcloaks first started. I was actually a bit surprised they managed to capture Ulfric so easily even though he's supposed to be this powerful Nord warrior from the rumors I've heard..._

_Now I understood why I didn't notice what was going on much sooner and why I never saw these carts, it's because they must have entered Helgen from the opposite side of the road and by then I had set up my campsite further down the hillside. That dragon must have also flown down from the other side of the mountains too since I never saw anything or smelled the smoke until the village was already in flames. Obviously, __I had no idea at the time what a dragon's supposed to smell like either because they were all supposed to be extinct so there's that too. More importantly, I just couldn't figure out why a dragon would attack Helgen specifically if it was there searching for food. There was much easier prey for it to catch in the wilderness that couldn't fight back but since most of the bodies were burnt and then left like instead of being torn apart and eaten, as morbid as that is, so it must've been provoked by something they did for it to slaughter an entire village of people like that..._

_Anyway, once Ralof regained his strength even though he said it might be safer for us to travel separately so no one suspected me of being involved with the Stormcloaks I decided to accompany him to Riverwood. I didn't have anything else better to do and besides, I was a bit concerned that Ralof might collapse somewhere along the way in that condition. And when he finally asked me straight out why I cared so much about his well-being I smiled and pointed out how it would have been completely pointless to save his life only to find his corpse somewhere along the road after a wolf or a bear caught his scent and had him for breakfast. He laughed in response and seemed to appreciate the gesture all the same so he warmed up to me fairly quickly._

_As soon as we arrived Ralof asked his sister Gerdur to give me some supplies as a small way to repay me for my kindness. And since I had proven to them I could be trusted Gerdur also asked me to travel to Whiterun and tell Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun about the dragon attack so he could send some of his guards to help protect Riverwood from a similar fate as Helgen. I'm sure Ralof would have tried to do it himself but since he hadn't slept for days and was still recovering from his wounds I agreed that it would be better if I went in his stead. That wasn't the only reason though. The other reason is that Ralof wasn't sure if they'd believe anything a Stormcloak rebel had to say and they might have assumed the story about a dragon attacking Helgen was all just part of an elaborate trap to weaken Whiterun so that Ulfric could storm the keep and take control of the city._

_I highly doubted I was going to have any better luck convincing them I was telling them the truth given the fact that I'm a Dagi-Raht Khajiit and given the bad reputation of my kind there was always a chance they would throw me out long before I told the Jarl anything useful. After all, I may look slightly more human than most of my kind, but I'm obviously still a Khajiit and being accepted for who I am is a rare privilege. Still, I was happy that Ralof and his sister were willing to entrust me with such an important task even though it was anyone's guess if the Jarl would listen to me. _

_I wasn't able to save anyone else from the destruction in Helgen though so regardless of whether they asked for my help or not I wanted to make sure Riverwood would be able to protect itself if that dragon returned and struck again. __That's why I agreed to do it without hesitation__. But like I mentioned earlier, my life has been full of many unexpected surprises so nothing went the way I expected them to at all. Because n__ot long after I made it to Whiterun, once I finished explaining what I saw in Helgen the Jarl gave me the task of retrieving something called a Dragonstone from a Nordic ruin near Riverwood. _

_He said he was hoping that maybe we could learn more about these ancient creatures from it and said I looked up to the challenge which is why he sent me to do it. Looking back on it now, it's more likely that Balgruuf was just unwilling to send one of his own men to take care of this for the same reason Ralof didn't come here himself. __With this civil war still going on between the Empire and these Stormcloaks, it's hard to know for sure who you can trust which I can understand all too well. _

_Either way as far as the Jarl of Whiterun was concerned protecting the common people of his hold takes priority over everything else which is also why he's been trying so hard to remain neutral in this war and I could respect him for that. So it made sense why he would be so willing to ask me to go in place of his own men since I'm not on anyone's side, I'm just a hunteress and the occasional adventurer which made me perfect for the job. __As luck would have it though I had already explored the ruin his court mage mentioned to me called Bleak Falls Barrow earlier that same week so it actually saved me a trip back to Riverwood. _

_Originally I was planning on selling the Dragonstone to a historian or something the first chance I got which is the only reason I still had it with me at the time. I had no idea how important the stone was so the fact that I found it just as all these strange events had begun to unfold one after another made me feel like I was about to take part in something much greater than I could have imagined. I didn't know what exactly, but I couldn't wait to find out!_

_It all seemed so exciting at first, but as you can imagine, things escalated from there when another dragon was seen attacking one of the watchtowers just outside of Whiterun and they abruptly asked for my help fighting it off. Why they seemed to believe I was suddenly some kind of a dragon expert after '_surviving Helgen' _I had absolutely NO idea. I mean, it wasn't as if I actually fought the first one! I only saw it from a safe distance as it was flying over my campsite._

_As a result, I began to worry that I may have gotten myself in over my head because I had never fought anything so large before, but at the same time, I wanted to use this opportunity to prove to everyone that not all of my kind enjoy resorting to thievery, assassination, making and illegally selling skooma, or becoming sell-swords to make a living. This was my way to change all that, to show everyone that I was serious about wanting to help and that I'm not like that at all. To me this wasn't about gaining gold or glory, it was about doing the right thing._

_But while we were fighting the second dragon I remember feeling this...strange thrum in my chest every time it closed the distance between us which was very unsettling. It felt familiar somehow too so I knew it wasn't just my nerves, I was sensing something powerful from that dragon that I couldn't quite explain. And once we had it pinned down with arrows sticking out of both wings so it couldn't fly away, I seized my chance to attack and dashed to the side, jumped on its head, and began slashing at its eyes with my daggers in an attempt to blind it. Then, using all of my strength I let out a savage cry and plunged one of my daggers directly into the dragon's temple for the final blow._

_It thrashed around wildly as it died, eventually knocking me to the ground, and through sheer force as it uttered a strange word with its last dying breath that I didn't recognize, and yet I could almost feel what it meant instead of actually recognizing the word itself. It was almost like that dragon was referring to me by some kind of grand title as a sign of respect and fear. But now I understand that this feeling was an echo of my true nature as the Dragonborn, a mortal born with the soul of a dragon who has the power to slay them permanently and absorb their power somehow which is what happened next._

_When I absorbed a dragon's soul for the first time I was so overwhelmed by the sudden surge of power that I fell to my knees, gasping. Though to be fair that was also a tough fight so I was pretty exhausted too. I resisted it at first until I felt drawn to one of those threads of the dragon's memories, almost like it was resonating with something that already existed inside of me. And as soon as I allowed that knowledge to unlock that part of me that's how I learned the first word of what one of the Nord guards call a Thu'im, or _"Shout."

_Until that moment I had never felt more alive in my life, not even when Masser and Secunda are both glowing full and bright in the night sky above Nirn, and I remember thinking that if I really was this _"Dragonborn" _the guards spoke of_ _then that meant I actually could make a difference here in Skyrim and help a lot more people with this new power. Not only that but I was so happy when I realized that with this new title it might finally be possible for me to meet other people besides Kaidan and the people of Riverwood who would accept me for who I am or at the very least would see my value as a warrior._

_I knew that was a lot to hope for, but even so, it was the start of a whole new life for me. And more than anything I wanted to feel like I belonged again and like I was needed since I was so tired of feeling so alone in the world. And maybe someday, I would find someone special who would remind me that I'm not alone, that I have friends, and might one day be part of a family again. __Only time would tell though..._

_At any rate, as soon as we returned to the city after the battle I told the Jarl what happened at the watchtower after we killed the dragon and he insisted that I answer the Graybeard's summons from all the way from on top of the Throat of the World which we heard on our way back. At first, his steward was a bit skeptical about my claim of being the Dragonborn but after giving everyone a small demonstration by Shouting up into the rafters there was no doubt about it. After all, it's not every day a Khajiit woman discovers she can use the ancient Nordic art of Shouting without any training let alone much knowledge about their culture to begin with._

_I wasn't really expecting what happened after that but I was also even given a Thaneship as a reward for my services which meant I was welcome in Whiterun with open arms from now on. And I suppose the Jarl mostly wanted to make it easier for me to do travel in and out of the city without the usual hassle which was appreciated too. It took a while for the rest of the townsfolk to accept me as their Thane, but after doing a few odd jobs for them that helped me build up my reputation and gain their trust. A couple of them were impossible to please no matter what I did but I expected as much so it wasn't a big deal.  
_

_Once I finished saving enough gold to buy the supplies I needed for the difficult journey to Ivarstead and upgraded my gear though, I left Whiterun and made my way up the mountain by climbing the 7000 steps to reach the home of the Graybeards. And it was there that I discovered once and for all that I really was the Dragonborn and they taught me many things, including more about the history behind my gifts. Truthfully __I'm very grateful to them for being so patient with me since I couldn't contain my curiosity and kept asking them questions almost nonstop whenever they taught me something exciting and new. Especially Arngeir, who is the only Graybeard that can speak normally without accidentally unleashing a small fraction of his power into a Thu'um with every word. _

_That brings us to where we are now..._

_I greatly enjoyed our lessons together, despite his many warnings about the risks of becoming too obsessed with my newfound power since it was given to me for a greater purpose. But apart from that Arngeir seemed very amused by my child-like antics and he was happy I was so eager to learn from them and that I deeply respected their peaceful way of life. Deep down though all I really wanted was to know what being the Dragonborn really meant for me and what it is I was destined to do because frankly, I had no idea why someone like me would be given this power instead of a Nord. _

_I told him I could see why he was concerned about my intentions in High Hrothgar at first since I doubt many Khajiit would have dared to make such a dangerous journey up here since we have our own beliefs and customs, but I also told him that I didn't come here because I'm trying to gain more power I just wanted to learn everything I could while I was here with them since I wasn't sure how often I would be able to make the journey. It's a difficult journey to make alone. And more importantly, I wanted to understand myself better so that I could accept this new part of me and use this gift to help those I couldn't before.  
_

_Arngeir seemed satisfied with my answer and he assured me that as long as I continued to follow this path, the Graybeards would be there to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to me to help guide me as the Dragonborn. He also hinted that it's entirely possible that there might be others out there who are also like me, other Dragonborns who have yet to be revealed. But for the time being, all we knew was that I was the only one in Skyrim at the moment._

_After that, as more of a traditional rite of passage, Arngeir gave me the task of retrieving something called the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. It seemed like an easy enough task at first because even with all the Draugr that infest most Nordic ruins I enjoy exploring them every so often. I've actually ventured inside quite a few of them over the years in search of treasure and interesting books preserved through magic or were made of more sturdy materials that kept their pages intact even hundreds of years later. _

_Sadly that's when my luck suddenly took another unexpected turn for the worse when someone else beat me to it and had stolen the horn before me! When I saw the note they had left for the Dragonborn I was so angry because it had taken me forever to reach the final chamber of this ruin. The message told me to meet _"a friend" _at the Sleeping Giant Inn and that I was supposed to let them know it was me by asking to rent the attic room. But I had already been to that inn several times and knew for a fact that it didn't have a basement let alone an attic so this code phrase made NO sense to me. Sadly, it wasn't like I had much of a choice unless I wanted to return to Arngeir empty-handed and freeze my tail off going up that mountain again..._

_And that's how I first met my newest _"friend"_ who ended up being a woman named Delphine and how I've been dragged into more political affairs than I ever planned to be since she's being hunted by the Thalmor. To make matters worse, Delphine said she basically wanted me to kill a dragon JUST to prove to her that I could absorb it's soul before she would trust me enough to tell me the whole story behind who she was and what she believes is going on with the whole dragon situation. As it turns out though, the black dragon I saw back in Helgen reappeared at the burial ground in Kynsgrove we went to and that alone already proved to both of us that her theory about the dragons coming back to life was true since we heard him Shout at the grave and how the dragon buried there was brought back to life as a result._

_Honestly, this fight was even more difficult than the last since the guards in Kynsgrove were too scared to offer us any sort of backup unlike the men who helped me in Whiterun but once the dragon was slain Delphine finally told me who she really was. She told me that she was one of the last Blade which were part of an ancient order of Akaviri warriors that once served as the Emperor's personal guards 200 years ago. Turns out they were also known as dragon slayers that served the Dragonborn before that. Personally, though I wasn't really buying the whole idea of the Blades actually _"serving the Dragonborn," _at least not as far as Delphine is concerned since she seems all too happy to send me off to do her bidding so I have a feeling she's just using me to get answers about the dragons. _

_I suppose in the end Delphine did give me some helpful information, but I'm not really looking forward to seeing her again. Something about that woman gets on my nerves. Still, if she's serious about wanting to help me stop the dragons from killing innocent people I need to listen to what she had to say and go along with her plan, at least for now. __That's exactly why I've been traveling across Skyrim in the meantime while trying to gather more information and waiting for Delphine to put together this crazy plan of hers to sneak me into a party at the Thalmor Embassy. There's a twisted sort of irony to that since Elsweyr is technically a part of the Aldmeri Dominion so I suppose that's another reason why she suspected me of being a Thalmor spy when we first met. Not that I've met any Khajiit actively serving them since most are either traders traveling in a caravan or have resorted to a life of banditry to survive this harsh climate.  
_

_Personally, I've never been a fan of the Thalmor or thought very highly of them, especially not after what they did to my friend Kaidan I mentioned earlier but that's another story. Ever since then I've been avoiding them for the most part which used to be a much easier task since their patrols rarely venture outside of the city unless they're escorting a prisoner for questioning to their prison base further north and rooting out Talos worshipers wherever they go. In fact, about a year ago I was offered a job by one of them when a Thalmor wizard leading of one of their patrols noticed my skills when I was snuck up on a thief who had stolen my satchel while I was out fishing and I wanted payback. Besides, there was no way I was going to lose my belongings to some random bandit in the wild without doing something about it since it was all I had to begin with!_

_The high elf wizard saw me not only steal it back without being seen and but he actually laughed at the fact that I pushed the thief into the river instead of slitting his throat which I could have. Not that I would since I try to only kill as a last resort since you never know who might turn into an unlikely ally or what tragic past has led them to this way of life and how there's always a small chance for them to change their ways. Not many people would be so understanding and forgiving about having their things stolen though so while I can laugh about it now, at the time I'll admit that was pretty upset about it because my favorite book and a few letters I had received from Kaidan were in that satchel. _

_At any rate, when the Thalmor wizard saw what happened he told me he was impressed that I could move with such silence and grace and offered me an official position with them, but I politely refused. Now that Delphine expects me to sneak into such an important Thalmor party to find out if they're responsible for the return of the dragons, some small part of me is actually afraid I might run into the very same wizard. __Anything could happen and it was only then after realizing how much of a risk I'm actually taking by doing this that I seriously began to wonder what in Oblivion I've gotten myself into this time letting Delphine talk me into this. I hope it will be worth it in the end because while I do want to make more friends and allies, the last thing I need in my life is another wizard taking a bit too much interest in me or marking me as an enemy..._


	2. The Wolf And The Raven

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

**(Updates 11/29/2020)**

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**Chapter 1: **_The Wolf And The Raven_

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Noir's POV

It's been almost two weeks now since Delphine asked me to meet her back in Riverwood but honestly, I've never been very good at waiting around. Especially since I didn't know how long I was supposed to wait and that's the last thing I wanted to do when there are people who could use my help. Besides, given the fact that she hasn't shown up yet in all that time, at least not since the last time I checked the inn, I decided to continue my travels for now, and if Delphine needs my help that badly she could always track me down again herself instead of expecting me to sit on my hands.

Dragons or no dragons I'm not helping anyone wasting my time like this.

To be fair though I didn't exactly plan to travel out this far from Riverwood looking for work. That said, the bounty letter I picked recently told me to go to Markarth to collect the reward once I had proof that I killed the bandit chief and their comrades who were blocking the road to Dragon's Bridge so it couldn't be helped. I was nearly there too but there was a nasty rainstorm on its way and I didn't want to get caught in it so I tried to pick up the pace a little. Oh and before you even ask, no, it's not because people assume that all Khajiit hate to get their fur wet that I wanted to avoid getting caught in the rain, it's actually because on dark rainy days like this I always feel groggy so my senses aren't exactly at their sharpest. And that can be very dangerous, especially in a place like this where there are all these Forsworn lurking in the hills of the Reach.

It's on lonely days like this that I really wish my friend Kaidan was here traveling with me. I miss having someone to talk to and a friend by my side to watch my back. Khajiit aren't really meant to live alone like this, but due to certain circumstances that were beyond my control, I never had much of a choice in the matter. I know I could have tried to join one of the caravans here in Skyrim I suppose but being a merchant or a caravan guard just wasn't the life for me. That said we're still a very social race, so traveling alone like this is-

My ears suddenly perked up when I heard voices up ahead just across the river, so I slowed down to listen and that's when I heard one of them say, "Oh great, another unwelcome visitor. I told you we shouldn't have come out into the open like this! It's way too close to the road..."

"Oh quit complaining!" a female companion of his replied, "When are we going to find a Shrine of Dibella this close to the village? Besides, if either of them anything funny there's only two of them and three of us."

There was a third voice, but their voice was so soft that even I could barely make it out and unlike the other two they fully intended to avoid any unwanted attention. And to tell you the truth I'm a bit surprised I heard any of them above the sound of rushing water from the river which would have normally drowned out their voices entirely. That said, the first two people were too busy arguing to notice how loud they were being which is what caught my attention and I have better hearing than humans, it's a blessing and a curse when you're born with a pair of cat ears.

When I finally spotted the owners of the voices over on the other side of the mist, the first thing I noticed were two male Forsworn and one female and I had a feeling those are the people I heard arguing just a moment ago. The first was a male archer with long fiery-red hair, the second was a warrior with short sandy-blonde hair and the last member of their hunting party was a female warrior with short brunette hair. And if you're wondering how I knew that these people were Forsworn I've learned over the years how to recognize their warpaint, weapons, and armor which they usually kept in their natural state as much as possible so it was mostly fur instead of cured leather.

As I continued observing them out of curiosity I noticed another pair of people who looked more like everyday hunters judging by their armor standing near the Shrine of Dibella who seemed to be trading furs or something. _So that's who they were complaining about earlier, the "unwanted visitors,"_ I thought before I also noticed that the person accepting furs was a Bosmer while the other man seemed to be a Nord with light brown hair.

What I found interesting about their exchange is that despite the fact that the latter was glaring daggers at the three Forsworn, almost as if daring them to take a single step closer, those three seemed oddly relaxed and from what I could tell had no intention of attacking the two hunters. It was almost as if the Bosmer already knew they could be trusted which is why he pretty much ignored them. So did that mean these Forsworn weren't hostile...? That's a first given how all of the Forsworn I've ever met attack everyone on sight...

Still, if I wanted convince them to let me pass peacefully this might be my only chance since it's unlikely I'll meet another group like this who seem a bit more willing to listen. Besides, all five of them were blocking the road and this was the only way across the river from here. So unless I wanted to turn around and make my way further downstream to find the next closest bridge, I needed to get past them now before nightfall. And it was getting hard to tell how close it was to nightfall thanks to the thick storm clouds looming above us to the point where not even the moons and the stars would be able to guide me.

Jerking in surprise when another loud rumble shook the air overhead, I took a deep breath and continued walking across the bridge. I'm not exactly sure what was going on between these two hunting parties, but it seemed safe enough for me to approach so I kept my daggers sheathed and held my head up high to let them know I'm not the least bit concerned. I might be traveling alone for now, but what they didn't know is that I could always Shout them halfway up the nearest cliff if any of them was stupid enough to attack me.

Once I was close enough I could hear more of their conversation, I paused as the Nord hunter snarled, "Are you still here? Damn it, can't a man do business without a bunch of skirt-wearing Forsworn breathing down my neck? This guy may say you're harmless but I'm not convinced so keep your distance or else, got it?"

"Bold words coming from a man who is outnumbered three to one, ranger," the blonde one smirked which only agitated him more.

"Oh shut up! I could take you all on if I had to, but you're in luck because I have somewhere better to be once I'm done here." Turning back to the Bosmer who seemed to be getting a little flustered now, the ranger asked, "So how about it? Will you give me a hundred gold per pelt? They might be a bit damp from the rain but there aren't many tears since it was a clean kill."

"Do I look like I'm carrying that much with me?" the elf frowned, sighing, "Look, I can give you a hundred and fifty for two pelts but that's all I can afford."

"Stingy bastard...ugh fine, guess that will have to be enough to pay for a room and a decent meal in Markarth," the grumpy ranger agreed, handing him the two pelts he was carrying rolled up under his arm and put the remaining one back in his pack.

I shook my head a little after the elf paid him and left because I think the ranger should have tried to at least haggle for some extra supplies if the hunter was out of gold. After all, that's what I usually do. Still, I guess they were too wrapped up in whatever they were doing to notice me until I announced myself by clearing my throat loudly. That's when the blonde Forsworn and the ranger both turned my way at the exact same time with an all too familiar look of astonishment on their faces the moment they laid eyes on me. Not that I'm surprised, it's the reaction I usually get since most of them have never seen a Dagi-Raht Khajiit...

While most people in Skyrim have seen plenty of other Khajiit traveling across the land, my kind are considered rare even in my homeland as I already mentioned once before. Truthfully I've only met two others who look like me but that was a long time ago back in Elsweyr, but here, there is no one else like me. For one thing, Dagi-Raht look surprising human despite our faces still being covered in a fine layer of fur and we don't have the same facial features as the Cathay who are much more common across Tamriel. And while most Khajiit have distinct patterns on their fur, mine is pure black aside from the two bright white patches on the back of my ears which my mother used to call my _"twin moons,"_ and said they were seen as a sign of good luck according to her.

As for the more basic part of my appearance, I was wearing a set of sleeveless leather armor that was form-fitting, and it came with a matching leather choker and thigh-high boots. Besides looking good in it I like this armor because it was easy to move in, not to mention it was surprisingly comfortable too which is a bonus. It also had a thin chain-mail tunic between the fabric of my undershirt and the leather armor for added protection. However, the only downside to wearing anything metal is that it can get very cold when the temperature drops sharply in the colder places in Skyrim which is why I carry a spare set of warmer armor in my satchel that I normally change into when the weather is especially cold.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit since my intrusion put them a bit on edge I laughed and asked playfully, "What's wrong? Never seen a Khajiit without a caravan before?"

"Of course we have, although I must admit I've never seen one quite like you before," the blonde Forsworn began with a coy smile to match as he took a few steps closer to me, his sky blue eyes shining with curiosity and a hint of distrust. "Tell me, why did you approach us so casually? You do realize that we are Forsworn and could easily tear you apart at a moment's notice, don't you? But I suppose given how your people are often treated by the Nords as well, perhaps we are more alike than you think..."

For some reason, a small shiver ran up my spine when he said that because the truth is I actually did believe I had a bit in common with the Forsworn at least since I also grew up in a tribal setting, but I ignored it and argued, "Well, for one thing, I overheard your friends arguing and from what I could tell aside from having a difference in opinion you seem much more willing than most of the Forsworn I've met to actually talk things out. And yes, I could tell you were Forsworn right away but, there's something different about you so I decided to take a risk and see if you would let me pass through here unharmed like you let these two hunters."

"So basically, the fact you're even talking to me instead of trying to skin me alive says a lot. And it's true that this might all be a clever ruse, but it's still a welcome change," I smiled genuinely.

Startled by my answer, he chuckled to himself and said, "Hmm, now this is unexpected. I didn't expect to hear such an honest answer from someone like you, nor that I would have the honor to meet someone so open-minded here in Skyrim. And if I may be so bold it is clear to me that you are no ordinary traveler. You speak as if you are one of us and not as a Khajiit. And you are surprisingly well versed in our ways. You also seem to be used to traveling alone much like that ranger over there which either means you are very brave or foolish. Or perhaps, as you said yourself this is a clever trap and you intend to capture my interest in beautiful women. If so..." he whispered softly, leaning in closer with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "...I approve."

"Oh please..." the ranger scoffed before I could respond, rolling his eyes. However, I was too busy blushing to really notice he was still watching us as my tail began twitching uncontrollably.

Thank the Gods no one could see me blush like you can with other races thanks to my dark fur, but still, the way my ears folded back shyly was probably a dead giveaway to how embarrassed I was by that compliment since I don't exactly hear it very often. "I...um, thank you. That's very kind of you to say..."

"Saying that speaking the truth is a kindness only proves the folly of this world," he lamented before clearing his throat and finally introducing himself with another gentle smile as he bowed slightly. "Where are my manners? My name is Cael, though many have come to know me as the Raven of the Reach. And you are?"

"My name is...Noir," I replied, momentarily distracted by sound in the distance that caught my attention and made my ears reflexively perk back up as I tilted one further back to pinpoint it again. I knew perfectly well that I could have just been hearing things, but my animal instincts were warning me that something was wrong and I also had a bad feeling I knew what that sound was...

"That's a weird name, what does it mean?" the red-haired Forsworn asked me, watching my movements carefully when he noticed the sudden change in my body language and began reaching for his bow.

Tilting my head slightly to the left I answered off-handedly, "It means _'night sky'_ in some long-forgotten language, or so I've been told..."

"Oi, ladyship? You ok? These Forsworn making you nervous? I can come over to rescue you if you want," the ranger asked, sounding like he was half-serious half-joking.

"Ugh, why is HE still here? I thought you had somewhere _"important"_ to be wolf-boy!" the female Forsworn mocked, glaring icily at him.

"Well, being the upstanding guy that I am, I can't very well leave a lady alone in the presence of a bunch of bloodthirsty savages now can I?" he began with a sly grin, "Now why don't you be a good girl and run along home or wherever in Oblivion you people came fro-!?"

"Shit, I knew that wasn't thunder!" I hissed, drawing my daggers which made the rest of them instinctively draw their weapons too. But since I didn't want them to misunderstand why I unsheathed them I shouted, "There's a dragon heading this way! Get ready!"

"Wait, what!? Are you fucking serious? How can you tell-!?" the ranger asked as he notched an arrow, searching the skies for any signs of it like the others. Then there was an earth-shattering roar and the sound of powerful wings fast approaching reached us as a dark shape broke through the clouds and dove straight for us.

We all staggered back a bit from the sheer force of the updraft from its wings and when I looked up one of them had clipped the side of the statue of Dibella. Too bad the heavens also decided this was the perfect time to pour rain down on us too which made things much more difficult since we could hardly even see the damn dragon. If we were lucky though, that went both ways. And while this actually isn't the first dragon I've ever fought, I had a feeling none of them knew who I was just yet or have come this close to a dragon on their own so all I could do was use my battle experience to make sure we all survived this. They'd thank me for it later and at least I gave them a fair warning that it was coming, meaning there was still time for them to escape if they decided this was too much for them to handle...

The people of Helgen weren't so lucky, which is why I wasn't about to let anyone else get caught off guard on my watch.


	3. YOU'RE The Dragonborn?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

**(Updated 12/2/2020)**

* * *

**Chapter 2: **_YOU'RE The Dragonborn!?_

* * *

Noir's POV

_Well, so much for getting through here peacefully, _I laughed humorlessly to myself, using my forearm to shield my eyes from the heavy rain since it was so hard to see much of anything.

I had to rely on my hearing to figure out where the dragon was circling overhead but we all knew it was still there. And I had no doubt in my mind that it knew I was here too so whenever it came near us, I pointed in that general direction and told whoever had a bow on hand to aim their arrows that way which seemed to help a lot. I've used a bow before to hunt, but for the most part I prefer to sneak up on my prey once I finish tracking them down or using snares. Obviously, there's no snare big enough to trap a dragon though that I know of which meant we'd just have to work with what we had.

Either way, it looked like the tables had turned because now we were the ones being hunted by a creature that is much larger and more powerful than all of us combined so it was going to take all of our combined skills to take it down. Especially since it was almost impossible to see the stupid thing in this damn weather! I'm just glad I wasn't fighting it alone this time because let me tell you, it's not easy even for someone with the power to Shout back at them...

Between the heavy rain, the river, the wind, and the dragon roaring above us it was hard for me to focus on listening for the dragon itself. And to make things worse it turns out that this dragon uses frost magic instead of the usual fire so whenever it unleashed a breath attack the terrain around it became slick with a thick layer of ice. I nearly forgot all about that small detail when I climbed onto the bridge so I could position myself in the best spot to try launching myself at the dragon as it swooped past from there until I slipped on a patch of ice on the stone railing and tumbled into the river!

As the water began to swirl all around me, I couldn't tell up from down at first but caught a lucky break when I finally resurfaced just as the current slammed me into a rock. Thankfully I didn't lose consciousness from hitting my head on it since I was facing it head-on. Either way, I was definitely going to feel sore from this later once warmed up and the water wasn't making me feel so numb from the cold. By some miracle, I even managed to keep a firm hold on my daggers and used them as an anchor onto the rock, but that was about all I could do.

These Nordic daggers were a gift from my friend Kaidan and were made of quicksilver which made them very strong; more importantly strong enough to even cut through stone and dragon scales for the most part. That said I was still trapped though so I wasn't sure what to do next until suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and whirled my head around to see that Forsworn from earlier, Cael, bravely holding on tightly to a rope he had hastily tied to a nearby juniper berry tree with one hand and holding onto me with the other and I could feel his muscles trembling from the strain and the cold. And the fact that he was going out of his way to rescue me came as a total shock, but obviously a welcome one.

"Are you alright, Noir?" Cael shouted as loudly as he could while trying to be heard above the raging water as it pushed hard against our backs.

"I'm fine!" I shouted back, "But nevermind me, the rest of you should get out of here before-" I began when Cael suddenly wrapped an arm entirely around my waist, pulling me close, and called out to his red-haired friend over on the riverbank who then began pulling on the rope as hard as he could to bring us to safety.

"Hold on, just what in Oblivion do you think you're doing?! You'll be pulled in too!" I exclaimed, glancing between the two Forsworn who nodded to each other and kept struggling against the current while their female companion and the other hunter were currently fending for themselves.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping Cael save your furry hide!" the red-haired Forsworn laughed with an impish grin, "If we're going to stand a chance against that scaly monstrosity we're going to need your help since you seem to know more about fighting them than we do! So shut up and let me concentrate because this isn't as easy as it looks! Robin's got us covered for now with the help of that ranger, but we can't keep this up for long! Now hold on tight you two!"

He had a point, but either way, I was still surprised that they decided to help me even with that in mind. When I looked over and saw Cael's expression he seemed so determined and sure about his decision to dive into the river after me that for a moment I almost forgot all about the danger we were in until Cale's grip on me slipped all of a sudden and I just barely managed to wrap my arms around his waist in time to stop myself from being ripped out of his arms by the strong current. We're also lucky I didn't accidentally stab him with one of my daggers when I grabbed onto him that way.

By the time we were safely brought back to the shore, gasping and sputtering for air, when I looked up again I saw that the dragon was on the ground now angrily snapping its jaws at the other two. I also noticed a large bloody tear that ran all the way down one of its wings which the only thing preventing it from flying again. And it looks like we had our female friend to thank for that since she had this smug grin on her face as she coaxed the dragon to face her blade again so at least I knew she actually had managed to hold her own against that dragon without our help, at least for now. The ranger seemed to be doing pretty well too and managed to aim a few arrows in the small gaps between some of the dragon's larger neck scales.

But, their luck wouldn't hold out forever so I knew I needed to end this fight once and for all.

Still shivering all over after nodding to Cael and his friend in thanks I forced myself to get back to my feet, wincing when my right ankle twinged a bit. Ignoring the pain though I got into position and Shouted at the dragon with all my might before it had the chance to unleash another ice attack on the ranger when I saw that he was currently on his knees, winded after being knocked back by its tail. Our eyes met for a moment after I Shouted at the dragon, his expression unreadable, but I sighed in relief once I knew he was alright and returned my focus on the dragon.

Not long after that, the dragon roared again and began walking towards me, brushing the female Forsworn aside with its good wing like it didn't care about anyone else anymore after spotting more worthy prey. And as soon as it spoke, I had no doubt in my mind that I was its target all along-

"Hi Los Aan Mey, Dovahkiin. I sensed your presence from afar and yet after seeing you fall so easily during our battle has greatly disappointed me. Zahrahmiik Tiid, is this really all the strength you have to offer little mortal?" The dragon mocked cruelly, lifting its head into position for another attack, its fangs gleaming dangerously.

"Hey, it's not my fault you caught me on a bad day," I hissed, feeling the hackles along the back of my neck rise a bit at the insult, "But trust me, I can still kick your scaly ass just fine so you want to challenge me, then let's see how you like this!"

Without another word, or at least not in Tamrielic, I took a deep breath and Shouted for a second time to stun the dragon just long enough to use the same tactic I've been using to kill the last several dragons with by leaping onto its head and stabbing it in the temple. But before I could, that ranger surprised me by shooting an arrow into one of its eyes to draw its attention away from me again, making the dragon roar in rage and snap the end of the shaft with one wing, turning its mighty head around to glare at the foolish human who dared challenge it directly. And as soon as I realized what he was doing, that he was distracting it, I smiled back at him and took advantage of the opening he gave me.

Once the other three recovered from the shock of hearing a dragon talk they joined the ranger in drawing the dragon's attention away from me before I charged in and used one of its neck spikes to swing up onto its head. It tried snapping its jaws at me and shaking me off, but with only one good eye left it was difficult to tell where I was and by the time it finally did...it was too late.

Without hesitation, I plunged my dagger deep into its temple which straight into the brain and let go when the strength in my arms gave out since they were still sore from clinging to that rock in the river earlier. I knew I'd be able to get it back once the dragon faded away and became nothing more than a pile of ancient bones again so I wasn't too worried. That said, I was completely wiped out from the whole thing so when the dragon's flesh disintegrated into flames I put my face in my hands and braced myself for the now all-too-familiar surge of power and the dragon's memories rushing through me.

We were safe for the moment, but I needed to recover my strength quickly before something else happened. But once it was over, no one said anything for a while and just stared over at me while I was sitting on the cold, damp earth.

As soon as he recovered from his stunned stupor, Cael rushed over to their friend Robin if I remember correctly and asked worriedly, "Are you alright Robin? Did it hurt you...?"

"Pfft, takes a lot more than that to take me down! I'd worry more about yourself Cael, after all, I'm not the one who decided to dive into a raging river to save some crazy cat girl with the soul of a dragon," she scoffed, glancing in my direction and shooting me a pointed look.

But then her expression softened a little and Robin whispered a bit more quietly behind her hand, "Anyway, while I hate to agree with Anu but I think he's right about one thing we better get out of here before they send guards from Markarth to find out what on earth a dragon was doing hanging around this close to the city. And by the Old Gods, once we get home they're never going to believe we actually fought alongside the Dragonborn! I still can't believe it myself since I thought she'd be tougher than that..."

"Are you kidding? That fight was amazing!" Anu grinned, kneeling down to examine what was left of the dragon's corpse and poking it with the end of his bow. "It might not be the same dragon, but thanks to her I feel like I finally avenged the death of my friend. Say, Cael, you think the mighty Dragonborn will let us take a few bones back to the village with us as a trophy? I bet we could make great tools out of them, arrows too and who knows what else!"

"Tch, greedy scavengers," the ranger grumbled under his breath as he pointedly ignored him and pulled a few stray arrows off the ground and out of the dragon's bones then put back into his quiver.

Too tired to really care if they knew I could still hear them clearly now that the rain had let up I sighed and replied off-handedly, "Feel free to take whatever you want, it's not like I can carry a whole dragon skeleton back to town with me anyway. Consider it a gift for saving my life."

Smiling Anu nodded, "See? Isn't that nice of her? Now let's take what we can and get out of here!"

"Wait, before we leave we should-" Cael began, standing up again to approach me when the ranger decided to get in his way and snarled-

"Forget it, if you're thinking about kidnapping her to use in some bloody ritual just because she's the Dragonborn you'll have to go through me first," the ranger threatened, drawing his dagger.

All I could do was stare blankly at him because I was so confused, was this guy seriously trying to protect me from Cael? But that's stupid, Cael and his friends saved my life! Couldn't he see that? I mean I don't remember seeing _him_ jumping into the river to rescue me...

With that in mind I shakily picked myself up again, put myself between them when I sensed tensions rising again, and tried to smooth things over before this escalated into another fight that I'm sure he wasn't actually in the mood for. Especially when we were all exhausted and possibly injured after fighting off that dragon together. Speaking for myself I'm pretty sure once I took a closer look at my own injuries I was going to discover a few new bruises after that fight, or worse, I might even have some bruised ribs which would explain why it hurt a little to breathe. Not to mention I probably twisted my ankle when I fell off the bridge. That's why I for one wanted to find somewhere to rest long enough to regain the strength to use restoration magic or perhaps find a healer in Markarth right away so I didn't have time to break up a fight between these two knuckleheads.

"Would you two please just calm down? Look, I know we're all tired, but picking a fight now is completely pointless. It doesn't matter if you're a Nord or a Forsworn because dragons are dangerous to everyone. We beat it by working together so that's all that really matters in the end anyway! Besides, neither of you had to stay and fight, let alone help me, but you did and that was very brave of you. Still, isn't it more important that we're still alive? As someone who knows all about being judged based on appearances alone why can't you put your differences aside for now and just be grateful for that without trying to pick a fight over someone you barely know?" I asked, looking between the two and blinking a few times when my vision got a bit blurry before adding, "Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered but I didn't help you guys either looking for anything in return, it was just the right thing to do."

"You are truly a pillar of strength and wisdom," Cael smiled softly at me before turning his gaze back to the ranger, briefly glancing over at his friends who were busy packing away a few dragon bones to see if they were ready to leave yet.

With a heavy sigh he added sadly, "Very well, I'll overlook the ranger's bold threats this time on your behalf Dragonborn. We've lingered too long as it is either way and must return to our village. Truth be told I would love to invite you to our village so you may rest and heal from your wounds Noir, but as chief, I cannot put my people at risk by drawing your other enemies to us as well if that dragon is anything to judge by. At least not at this moment in time, I'm sorry..."

"I completely understand that your friends and family should always come first. But don't worry I can take care of myself. It's kind of you to offer though since I'm still a complete stranger to you whether I'm the Dragonborn or not," I smiled back, tiredly.

Nodding in approval at my response, Cael then took a menacing step forward his blue eyes narrowed as he directed his next words at our mysterious ranger friend and growled in a low menacing voice, "As for you ranger, I warn you if this is some kind of a trick to get the Dragonborn alone with you and you intend to harm her in any way, rest assured that my people will hunt you down like a wild beast if we must to avenge her honor. You may think of us as little more than savages, however, even we do not forget our debts because without Noir's warning we never would have defeated that dragon alone with such small numbers. Remember that the next time you decide to make baseless threats...especially when you too are traveling alone in our land."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now get out of here before I change my mind and decide to cut out that annoying honey-coated dagger of a tongue of yours myself, Forsworn," the ranger growled back, suddenly putting a protective arm around me. But as it turns out it's actually a good thing he pulled me close because the next thing I knew everything started spinning and before I realized what was happening, my knees gave out from under me and everything went black.


	4. Reluctant Kindness

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

**Note (3/25/2020):** Sorry this update took so long, things have been crazy this week. Anyway, just fyi, I wanted to explain a couple of things I forgot to mention before. For one thing, Noir actually means _"black"_ in French but I thought that was too boring in a Skyrim setting so I said it means _"night sky"_ instead. Also, I know this is a romance story with Bishop from the Skyrim Romance mod, but I ended up having Cael a lot more involved in the introduction than planned since Noir just finds him fascinating. I mentioned it earlier in the other chapters but he basically reminds her of her old life in Elsweyr which you'll learn more about later. But don't worry, she'll get over her little crush eventually! Lolz!

* * *

**(Updated 12/4/2020)**

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**Chapter 3: **Reluctant Kindness

* * *

Noir's POV

The first thing I noticed when I slowly became aware of my surroundings again is that I was being carried by someone. And when I opened my eyes to see who it was I saw a net of familiar brown hair brushing against my cheek. I wasn't entirely sure what happened at first though so I lifted my head a little and asked him groggily, "Ugh, what happened...? Where am I?"

Glancing over his shoulder, the stranger snickered in reply, "Welcome back to the world of the living princess, did you enjoy your beauty rest?"

"Princess? What's that all about? Oh well, I suppose I've been called plenty of weirder names over the years," I laughed tiredly then shook my head and repeated the question, "But seriously how did you end up giving me a free piggyback ride...? What happened to me after we killed the dragon together?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, I never said I was doing this for free," he frowned, slowing to a halt. "You're the one who decided to swoon into my arms like some damn noblewoman and I wasn't about to leave you laying in the mud like that, the guilt would've driven me crazy."

With an annoyed sigh, he reluctantly added with a slight shrug, "Besides...I kinda owe you one for saving my hide too so I thought I'd at least get you to town safely because with that twisted ankle you wouldn't have made it very far on your own. You're lucky I even give a damn."

Looking down as far as I could without throwing him off balance I finally noticed the make-shift splint on my leg, he must've checked for any broken bones while I was unconscious earlier which made me blush a little since I hoped he didn't decide to take a peek at anything else while _"checking for wounds."_ Speaking of which, that did make me wonder just how long I was out for and how his argument with Cael and his friends ended so after that I asked my mysterious ranger companion, "By the way whatever happened to Cael? I assume he decided not to cut your head off since you're still alive and well unless I've been rescued by a very chivalrous ghost!"

"Ha ha very funny!" he scoffed, probably rolling his eyes at my teasing although I couldn't see his expression very clearly. "Anyway, what's it to you? Trust me I did us both a favor since you can't trust skirt-wearing bastards like him, they're worst than bandits because they kill people for the sake of killing and not for profit. He doesn't care about you! Those Forsworn probably only bothered to save you so you'd lower your guard long enough for them to sacrifice you to one of their freaky Gods, a Hagraven, or doing something much worse that would almost make you wish for death."

"Besides, that sissy-boy and his friends ran off as soon as they saw an Imperial patrol unit heading our way. True I didn't want to stick around either, but at least I bothered to help you while he was all too happy to leave you behind face down in the mud to fend for yourself. Oh and by the way, you're welcome," he added grumpily, sounding a bit jealous by the fact that I wanted to know more about Cael than about him but it isn't like that at all.

It's just that I've just never met a Forsworn who not only was willing to talk to me but someone who risked his life to save mine so I was curious to know what happened after I blacked out. I also felt guilty because I never got the chance to thank Cael either, and maybe now I never would since the chances of finding him were very low since the rain is bound to have washed away his footprints and his scent. That said, ranger-boy here did have a point since I didn't even know his name yet, but it isn't like I had time to ask him earlier between the dragon attacking us and preventing him from fighting Cael on top of that.

And even before all that this ranger looked pretty unapproachable at first by the time he finished trading with that Bosmer hunter. Especially when he looked like he was ready to attack Cael any minute as a knee-jerk reaction which didn't exactly make him seem like the friendliest person there. And while I could understand some of his mistrust, somehow he seemed especially irritated by Cael's presence even though from where I stood he and his companions weren't acting that threatening. In fact, Cael looked like he enjoyed teasing him...

All I knew about the man carrying me was that he's a ranger, whatever that means. But despite all of that he did decide to take it upon himself to make sure I was alright after I collapsed and he even put himself between me and Cael when there was no reason for him to do that. He didn't seem to trust anyone either judging from what I originally overheard, but for all his grumpiness and complaining I don't believe he's a bad person. Honestly, I'm glad he didn't just rob me and leave me on the side of the road somewhere once the dust settled like some people might have. He didn't have to stand up to Cael either, who I personally don't think was ever a threat to us, but he did.

So the least I could do was thank him properly.

"I _was_ getting to that part next you know," I pouted, my ears drooping back slightly, "But first things first! So given the fact that we were rudely interrupted by that dragon attack earlier, I never did catch your name and I'd like to know _who_ I'm actually thanking."

Grunting and lifting me up a little higher onto his back he replied, "It's Bishop. And let's save the rest of the chit-chat for when we reach Markarth though because I for one don't want to get ambushed by any more Forsworn."

"It's nice to meet you Bishop, and thank you for helping me. I'm Noir, but you probably already heard me introduce myself earlier huh," I added, swishing my tail a little bit and smiling. "Anyway, I should be fine now so can go ahead and put me down, I can walk on my own from here..."

"Nope, not happening," Bishop said firmly, surprising me. "Walking with a sprained ankle is a bad idea and I didn't carry you all this way just to have you go limping all the way to town in the dark. Even I'm not that big of a jackass."

"But-" I argued but he cut me off with a stern voice.

"Hey, Dragonborn or not, I'm not leaving you out here with an injured leg in a place swarming with enemies," Bishop argued. "If you died on my watch after I stood up for you I'd look like a total moron. Besides we're both heading in the same direction anyway right? So this whole argument is pointless."

With a sly grin though he added mischievously, "You can thank me by buying me a drink or two since I'm a bit short on funds at the moment. That is, unless you feel like sharing a room with me instead...?"

Rolling my eyes at his last flirty comment, I shook my head in defeat and replied, "Ok fine, you've made your point. But if you get tired of carrying me let me know ok? That way you can stop to rest for a few minutes without being ambushed since I can see in the dark than you can, so I should see anyone coming from a mile away or at least hear them now that we're not so close to the river."

"You mean like how you saw that dragon? What? I'm kidding! Don't give me that look! Besides, I'll never get tired of enjoying the warmth of a lovely woman in my arms, sweetness," Bishop laughed, continuing to walk forward again. "At any rate, let's get going because I'm really going to need a stiff drink after all the unexpected bullshit I had to deal with today."

And so we continued our journey to Markarth together in silence while he carried me on his back because there was no arguing with this stubborn man. I could have, but I just didn't have the energy for it yet. At that point we were nothing but two strangers brought together in the most unlikely way, not knowing what the future would bring or much about each other, and yet secretly I was really happy he decided to stay. I don't know what Bishop hopes to get out of helping me beside the obvious, but for now, I'm just relieved I'm traveling alone at least for a little while...

Not to mention that for once I'm the one being rescued.

* * *

Thankfully we were pretty close to the city when I woke up, however the guards weren't very happy when Bishop and I showed up long after they had closed the gates for the night. But somehow we managed to convince them to let us inside when I showed them the bounty letter I came to turn in and they realized we were just here for work and didn't plan on staying long. Well, at least I wasn't but Bishop on the other hand, who knew?

I'll admit it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when Bishop made it sound like we've been traveling companions for much longer than we actually have and spun a rather elaborate lie about our horse bolting, claiming that's how I ended up with a twisted ankle. Although my guess is he just wanted to give them another reason to hurry up and let us inside by appealing to their good nature of helping a damsel in distress so to speak. The guards didn't notice I'm a Khajiit either since Bishop draped his spare fur pelt over my head and shoulders to keep me warm when it was still raining and I was unconscious and they weren't in the mood to take a closer look at me.

I think the reason Bishop did this is because neither of us wanted to deal with the attention that usually follows after people figure out I'm the Dragonborn thanks to all the rumors floating around about me. As soon as the front gate boomed shut behind us though I could have sworn I heard Bishop call them a pair of _"dumbass's"_ before he carried me straight to the inn, which was thankfully right in front of us. Once inside I stifled a sneeze since my armor was still a bit damp from my dip in the river and I settled into a chair after he set me down.

Bishop wasted no time ordering food and drinks and I didn't even argue when Bishop loudly announced he was putting everything on my tab because honestly all I wanted to do was change out of this soaking wet armor and take a warm bath. I was also really curious about why Bishop kept pretending we already knew each other even after we made it inside the city. It made sense at the gate but now? I dunno what to think since I hardly know the man. And the way he kept acting like we were already old friends, or maybe more than that, by slinging an arm over my shoulder to scare off anyone who tried to approach made me feel, well, safe for lack of a better word.

I usually have to be more careful when I'm traveling alone because people tend to treat me one of two ways. On the one hand, they either harass me for being a dirty flea-bitten Khajiit and say I'm not welcome in the city so they try to chase me out, or the men decide to offer me a good time since I look _"pretty sexy for a cat." _At least nowadays since people already know I'm the Dragonborn, anyone who tries to do either of those know I can kick their ass if they mess with me so it doesn't happen nearly as often anymore. But don't get me wrong it still DOES happen and I always try to be friendly to others for the most part, but I don't want anyone to think I'm oblivious to their true intentions or an easy target just because I'm alone.

Usually, I only come into town to get the kind of supplies I can't get out in the wild or to look for work but right now all I wanted was a good night's sleep and a hot meal. Speaking of which, when I asked if they had one the innkeeper, Kleppr I believe his name was, told me, "You're in luck, we do in fact have a bathing area in the back. The stone helps retain the heat of the water longer as well so you should find it very relaxing. Your meal should be ready once you're done as well. My wife will show you the way."

Kleppr's wife as it turns out was a much more gracious hostess despite all the loud complaints she made about her husband leaving her to do all the work and actually tending to their guests. She also gave me something dry to change into once she showed me to the bathing area since I didn't have any spare clothes at the moment since those were wet too. Sadly everything in my satchel was soaking wet at the moment so I hung up as much of it out to dry as I could after locking the room again.

Honestly, I wasn't sure why she was treating me so nicely until it struck me that maybe Bishop spent a little TOO much of my gold on our meal tonight. I just hoped that this wasn't his plan all along when Bishop _"borrowed" _my coin purse, but on the other hand, I still plan on collecting the reward for that bounty from the other day and I had a few small items with me I wanted to sell in the morning so I would probably be able to replenish whatever he spent. Or well, at least most of it.

Either way, I'm not going to complain too much because despite everything that went wrong today, at least I'm still alive. But whether this companionship with Bishop lasts or not, at least for tonight I have someone to talk to which is a pleasant change. And for now, that is enough for me.

And maybe it's too much to ask for but secretly I'm kinda hoping Bishop will stick around for a while. I kinda like him for some odd reason, its hard to explain why, and he did go through a lot of trouble to bring me here despite claiming he only wanted to repay me for my help and he had no reason to stay by my side besides some sense of duty to at least be civil around a pretty girl. That's why even if his intentions aren't entirely honest, I want to take a chance on Bishop. I want to believe that I've finally found someone worth the risk of being disappointed again...

And more importantly, I wanted a friend who wasn't off on their own personal quest like someone else I know.


	5. Unusual Quirks

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from Skyrim, the characters from the awesome mod Skyrim Romance by Maralightfeather, Kaidan 2 by livtempleton, or any other mod-related content referred to in this story. This story is purely fan-made and I only claim ownership of the character I'm playing as.

**Note (11/25/2020):** And we're finally back! Got my game working again and life has settled down, so to speak anyway, so I've been enjoying experiencing Skyrim and the mods I'm using in this story again. I know not that many people really care about this story but I have lots of fun things planned and in general, Noir really is a beloved character of mine so I owed it to her and to myself to give this story another shot. That said I'm still taking screenshots galore but unlike before the story doesn't revolve around that or gameplay, I'm literally just focusing on the characters getting to know each other. So yeah, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and if you do, well it'd be nice to get my first review soon. _*gives readers a cute pleading look*_

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**Chapter 4: **_Unusual Quirks_

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Bishop's POV

Up until now, I've only heard rumors about the Dragonborn; but after actually seeing her in person I can tell you that her being an _'unusual Khajiit' _is the understatement of the century. I mean sure, for a Khajiit her face looks bizarrely human and frankly, she doesn't really talk or act like any of the other fuzz-balls I've met in my travels but I just don't get it. Why was she so eager and willing to risk her own hide for a bunch of total strangers like that? How can she still smile at me like that like it's no big deal and make jokes so easily after we almost got mauled by a goddamn dragon?

Seriously is being the Dragonborn nothing but some kind of twisted game to her? Is she in it for the thrill? Or is this crazy cat girl really that naive? Is she THAT oblivious to the constant danger she seems to keep putting herself in...?

Hell if I know...

_Ugh, whatever! It's not like I actually care one way or another, _I scoffed, draining another tankard to wash down these pointless thoughts. _The only reason we're here together is because I'm paying her back for helping me out back there and to make sure those Forsworn didn't carry her off to be sacrificed for some bloody ritual. That's all it is. _

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I glanced up just in time to watch Noir walk back into the tavern wearing something other than the leather armor I saw her in earlier. Guess Noir must've asked for some dry clothes to borrow because in the meantime so she was wearing a simple white tunic that was clearly a bit too big for her so it partially hung off her shoulder. The rest of the loose fabric was held in place with a leather corset and to complete the look she was wearing a pair of brown pants and worn-out boots which were flecked with small bits of dried mud.

As I watched Noir make her way across the room, I couldn't help but admire the way her body moved as she expertly cut her way through the crowd towards me. And for a second it almost made me forget how deadly this woman was while we were fighting that dragon only an hour ago. It's hard to put into words exactly, but it was almost like watching a sabercat in action going in for the kill where you could see the raw power behind each attack and there was a strange sort of wild grace to her movements.

To put it bluntly, Noir could be pretty vicious when she needed to be. I almost feel bad for her enemies since I'd hate to be on the receiving end of Noir's blades. That's why I made it a point to remind myself that this woman isn't half as dainty as she looks.

Anyway, I think the mead was starting to get to me at that point since I couldn't tear my eyes away from Noir. But then again, neither could the rest of the slobbering idiots in the room who were gawking at her ass as she passed by their tables which made me want to stand up and punch their lights out. Not that she couldn't do it herself and add a few cat scratches to their faces for good measure. As soon as our eyes met though I couldn't help but grin once I saw those creeps lose their bravado the instantly they realized she was already here with someone else, namely yours truly.

I wasn't about to waste the opportunity to let them forget it either so I said a bit louder than I probably should have, "Took you long enough, I thought you fell in and drowned in the bath ladyship."

"Gods Bishop, just how many drinks did you have? And besides, I wasn't gone THAT long. Let's hope you didn't accidentally drink mine while you were at it," she replied with a hint of amusement, sitting down in the empty chair beside me where she actually began to count the number of tankards still sitting on the table that hadn't been removed yet.

Before I could respond, the innkeeper's wife brought us another pair of fresh drinks along with our food with a little help from her daughter. Looking at it all I quickly realized I went a bit overboard ordering this much all at once, but I figured we were both starving after that intense battle earlier. Besides, I'm sure that the almighty Dragonborn could easily afford it and it seems I guessed right about how hungry she was when I saw how Noir's tail began to twitch happily as she inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma of the freshly baked food.

As for her drink, I was a bit confused at first when she suddenly asked if they had any snowberries on the menu. In response, the innkeeper's daughter brought over a small bowl of them which Noir deftly began to cut in half with a knife. Once she cut enough of them I watched as Noir began pressing the cut berry against the flat of the blade with her fingers to extract the juice from it to pour into her drink.

_Is this some sort of weird Khajiit custom or something? _I wondered, or maybe she just REALLY liked snowberries so I had to ask-

"Hey what exactly are you doing with those?" I asked, watching Noir do the same thing with the rest of the berries in the bowl until she was satisfied and turned to look at me while stirring her drink with the knife.

"Oh nothing much," she smiled contently, "I'm just making snowberry milk. I've only been to a few taverns that serve it already made so I usually end up adding berry juice to my own whenever they don't. And in case you're wondering I know this might seem weird to you but I have another reason for doing it besides loving snowberries in general. I do it because not only does it taste good, but these berries can help boost your resistance to the cold which comes in handy in a place like Skyrim."

Raising an eyebrow I snickered, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't snowberry milk usually only served to kids...?"

Noir's ears folded back slightly as she admitted sheepishly, "Well...technically yes, but unlike the rest of you Nords I don't drink mead all the time like its water. The last time I decided to risk having a few bottles had...mixed results. In fact, I think the first time I drank too much I woke up up in the rafters of the inn curled up with a rug from the floor after getting a bit carried away while explaining to an old friend of mine what the difference between a pelt and a rug is..."

After pausing to take a drink of her strange snowberry concoction and setting the mug back down, Noir continued with a snicker, "According to him I was loudly complaining about how I never understood why bandits enjoy yelling that they'd like to make rugs out of my fur. But I mean who in their right mind -bandit or not- would ACTUALLY skin a Khajiit to make a rug out of their pelt? That's about as creepy as me saying I want to skin a human."

"Whatever you say little miss snowberry..." I teased, taking another large bite out of my goat leg. "Anyway, you gonna eat now or what?"

"Oh, right!" Noir nodded, softly nudging her drink aside to make room for the hearty bowl of venison stew she ordered and enjoying a few spoonfuls.

After that, we ate our meals in silence but since she finished long before I did, Noir turned to me once the barmaid took the empty bowl away and said, "By the way, I was going to ask you something important but maybe I'll try again later when you're sober. Either way, thanks again for your help with the dragon earlier and for saving a seat for me. Ah and the sprain isn't as bad as I thought so you don't have to worry about me, it should be alright after a day or two."

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm not that drunk," I began grumpily before adding with a wolfish grin, "So don't get any funny ideas about running off to play hero again on your own because I'm telling you its a bad idea to push your luck waltzing around like that with that ankle. What's more, you're obviously gonna need someone here to watch over you til you're back on your feet, so it might as well be me. S'not like I've got anything else better to do."

"Right," Noir replied skeptically, shaking her head and draining the rest of her snowberry milk before adding, "By the way you never answered my question. I still want to know what in Oblivion a _'ranger'_ is supposed to be..."

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Noir's POV

By the time we finished talking, I was the one who ended up carrying HIM back to the room he rented us for the next few days and I did my best to get Bishop onto the bed without dropping him since they're not exactly the softest in the world unless you have lots of furs on top. Honestly, the floor was going to be just as uncomfortable given how they're both made of stone. I know the Dwemer originally built this city but you'd think the people who lived here would have switched out these stone slabs for something actually comfortable.

Sighing, I went to see if my armor was still wet and sure enough yes, the leather was still damp but that's probably a good thing so it let me make a few adjustments while it was still pliable. I've been meaning to reposition some of the chain mail in the middle layer for weeks now since it slipped out of place during a fight after some stitching came loose. I really like this set so I really didn't want to have to replace it any time soon. That said I probably should get a new cloak at least since the old one is a bit too threadbare for my liking.

My eyes started to drift closed while thinking about all this so I curled up on the extra bedroll they provided when Bishop rented this room, carefully placing my daggers beneath the pillow, and as usual listened to all the small sounds around me until I felt like it was safe to finally let myself drift off to sleep. This was the first time I've actually been to Markarth and it smelled like wet stone and there was a cold metallic taste in the air, not to mention I could hear the murmuring of patrons just outside our room and the steady flow of the waterfalls outside powering the watermill. I caught a glimpse of it when Bishop carried me to the inn since I wasn't able to convince him to let me down any sooner.

I smiled to myself in my sleep because for some reason I had a good feeling about Bishop. Sure he seems to complain and grumble a lot, but Bishop did step in to protect me, and more than that he even offered to help until my ankle has fully healed. I've already mended it for the most part with some healing magic but he's probably right, I've been pushing myself too hard trying to keep myself busy while waiting for Delphine to finally contact me again...

It's more than that though. I can't really put my finger on it apart from the fact that it feels nice to have someone care about my well-being too for once. I've missed this feeling ever since Kaidan and I parted ways. While I might not openly admit it, I've always felt a little lonely and that feeling only grew worse when I was taken away from everything I knew and brought to this place. And here in Skyrim, sure the other Khajiit accept me as one of their own, but at the same time they know we're not exactly the same since my kind are rare even among our race so there are very few of us.

That's part of the reason why I stand out so much in Skyrim; well besides the fact that I live in a land mostly covered in snow and my fur is the dark color of charcoal. I'm also considered different for other reasons I can't control since I was forced to give up my original way of life and I was punished when I didn't comply. Just the memory of that person eventually turned my dreams into a whirlwind of nightmares mixed with old memories which made me toss and turn in my sleep until suddenly my eyes snapped open and I bolted upright, gripping my daggers at the ready...

Still breathing heavily I snuck a glance over at Bishop who was still snoring the night away and gradually relaxed my grip, lowering my arms and after tucking them under my pillow again I settled back down in my bedroll. I hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time so it was strange to have one now, however, I wasn't alone anymore so that alone brought me some comfort. It might not last, but I wanted to enjoy it for as long as I could.

And who knows, maybe Bishop could become someone I can confide in and he can help me finally put the past to rest the same way my friend Kaidan is while trying to piece his own together. I wouldn't know until I asked if he's willing to stay with me a little longer. That is if Bishop REALLY has nothing better to do and was only saying that to act all coy with me. Good thing two can play at that game and I'm eager to see what sort of mischief we can get into from now on as long as Bishop does decide to stick around.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see what fate has in store for us...


End file.
